This invention is related to grease fittings for dogs useful for latching a door or the like to a ship's bulkhead, and more particularly to such a grease fitting having a modified plug in the lubricant passage of the dog's spindle so that the plug can be engaged by a wrench or the like for removal, and a cap nut mounted on the spindle to enclose the spindle end but permitting access to the plug.
Several dogs are commonly employed or latching a door in the bulkhead opening of a vessel. The dog has a handle with a spindle mounted in a bulkhead opening. The end of the spindle extends beyond the bulkhead opening. A pair of nuts lock the spindle in position. The bulkhead opening has an annular cavity for receiving grease through a central passage in the spindle. A grease pellet is inserted into the passage. A threaded plug pushes the pellet through the passage.
One of the problems with such an arrangement is that the threaded plug, when fully seated in the grease passage, exposes only a slot for engaging a screwdriver for removing the plug from the spindle. Frequently, the plug is so frozen in position that it cannot be removed except by a drilling step. This is a time-consuming and expensive process.